Fading Wounds
by Scorpio-Rat
Summary: Makoto starts off her birthday with an undesired reminder of the things she's lost, but it starts to hurt a little less each year now that she's no longer alone to wallow in it. An under 1,000 word prompt based fanfic.


AN: The two prompts used for this were Family and Death, so I wrote a birthday fic for Makoto. This actually was done by the time her birthday came around, but I'm only posting it now.

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Makoto snapped awake in her bedroom, the echoing of thunder and a dying turbine's whine still in her ears. For a long moment, she stared at the ceiling in silence, letting her breathing even out again. It was barely morning, and pale sunrays slipped through her window, illuminating the snow outside.

It was just a dream, she thought. One that she wished hadn't happened, but it was no excuse to cry. After repeating it a few times, she worked up the energy to sit up. Her tired eyes adjusted to the light and fell on the calendar. December 5th. A short laugh slipped out of her mouth, and Makoto rubbed the few tears that had run down her cheek with a hand.

"What a birthday present…" she grumbled, voice raw. She wasn't going to acknowledge the lump stuck in her throat. Makoto finally got up and forced herself to get ready. Going right back to bed was tempting, but she was sure her friends would try to break down her door if she abandoned them today. At least she didn't have to deal with school...

After showering long enough to raise goosebumps on her skin, she dressed and tied her hair up in her customary ponytail. Makoto hesitated, and then grabbed the pair of rose earrings off her night stand. Bad memories or not, they were a part of her.

For once, she didn't want to cook anything, and so breakfast was skipped in favor of going out for a walk. The photograph sitting in the living room's small altar was pointedly avoided as she went out the door.

Mako listened to the snow crunching under her boots as she wandered, no destination in mind. As long as she didn't think about it, she'd be okay.

A plane passed over Tokyo, stopping her in her tracks with the sound. She fought to push the rising panic back down and swallowed hard, making sure she didn't gasp out loud. She was eighteen now, and high school seniors didn't cower behind trees and wish for people they couldn't have.

The sound faded, leaving her with nothing but frustration with herself, and an acute sense of aloneness. It was ridiculous to fall apart at the smallest thing that brought the memories back. That was then and this was now. Determined to completely distract herself this time, she grit her teeth and broke into a run. The streets were mostly empty at this hour, but she barely looked up to dodge the other people on the sidewalk, too focused on pushing herself to the physical limit. Time slipped by as she cut through the park, and eventually her path turned back to her apartment, the sun much higher in the sky.

Red faced and panting, Makoto slowed down as she took the stairs to the second level. Her legs burned from the effort, but the exhaustion did numb her in a way. After fumbling with her keys, she pushed her door open, only to be greeted by the startled faces of the other senshi in her living room.

"Mako!" Usagi slammed into her and hugged her tightly, almost knocking them both over. Makoto steadied them both, and then returned the hug after hesitating. Rei, Ami, and Minako ran to meet up with them.

"We were trying to surprise you by coming over early, but you weren't here," Minako said.

"You didn't even answer our calls to your communicator…" Ami continued. "We thought something might have happened to you." Had her watch even beeped? She couldn't recall much of what had happened during her impromptu jog.

"You're okay, right?" Usagi asked, her voice muffled by Makoto's jacket. She still refused to let go.

"Usagi, let her breathe, would you?" Rei narrowed her eyes at the other girl, and then turned back to Mako. "But...you are okay, right?" She wasn't sure how to react to all the sudden concern for her wellbeing, but something about having everyone worrying about her made the nightmare's hold on her mood loosen.

"Yeah…" Makoto couldn't stop herself from smiling, even if it was a small one. "I'm fine." She'd be okay now, at least. The room's atmosphere defrosted with her, and she was soon dragged into the kitchen to look at the ice cream cake they had found.

And as they all slept in a messy pile on her living room floor hours later, their party somehow turned into an overnight event, the turbine's haunting sound faded a little further in her dreams.


End file.
